Text messaging has become a popular mode of communication in many mobile (or wireless) networks. One example of text messaging is Short Message Service (SMS), which is a set of communication protocols allowing the exchange of short text messages (i.e., 160 characters or less) between devices. While the term “text message” traditionally referred to text-only messages sent using SMS, it has been extended to include multimedia messages, such as images, video, sound content, etc. The multimedia messages may be sent using Multimedia Message Service (MMS) protocol. Often times, mobile users more frequently use text messaging for communication than voice calls.
Many service providers use flat-rate charging for text messages. For example, a sender of a text message may be charged a flat monthly rate for unlimited text messages. Alternatively, the sender may be charged a flat rate per text message that is sent (e.g., $0.05/message). In order to optimize revenues, service providers may want more flexibility in how to charge for text messaging.